I’m reading Star Wars Ahsoka (trying to finish my books TBR this month) and I must say I really like her. It’s an interesting character and a nice addition to SW stellar crew. But I think it’s so upsetting all this discourse of “not being a Jedi” just because she doesn’t belong to the Jedi Temple Studio 54. So, to be a Jedi you must be a member of a country club and that’s it? #starwars#ahsoka#books#reading@bookstodon
As a reader, do you prefer when people give you random books as gifts, or do you prefer getting a gift card to a bookstore (so you can pick the book)? Just curious.
@pivic@bookstodon I hate Goodreads, I had an account in its early days and loved how I could add all the books I own to an online library, but a lot of the reviews are just mean. I deleted my account a long time ago. I've read about the recent review bomb campaigns against new authors and it's awful but not surprising. It's such a toxic culture there.
@stina_marie@bookstodon@horrorbooks@horror Aaahhh, what a brilliant list! Hailey Piper, Paul Tremblay, Stephen Graham Jones and so many more! Can't wait! :ablobcatbongo:
Christ, imagine being so deranged that you'd post negative reviews of books of fellow new authors you perceived as rivals. Goodreads is turning into the YouTube of the literary world (no that's not a compliment).
‘It’s totally unhinged’: is the book world turning against Goodreads? | Books | The Guardian
I used to really like Goodreads, but that was many years ago.
I honestly find the reviews mostly useless, like a lot of crowd sourced reviews.
99% are "I like books about trains. This book is about trains. This is a good book" or "I didn't like this book, not enough trains" only some are in more elaborate language.
@joannaholman@timrichards@bookstodon That's pretty much how I use it, though if I happen to write a review of something (for my blog or the Sisters in Crime newsletter) I'll post it there as well.
I have so many more unread books on our shelves than I'll ever read. Each of those books is somewhere on my TBR
list. I'm thinking that I might complement my #TBR list with a #NTBR list. There are so many (and more and more)
books, and I have so little (and less and less) time in front of me when I might read them. Obviously, winnowing
the collection would help to declutter our small space, but might it also declutter my mind? https://johnrakestraw.com/post/from-the-tbr-pile-to-the-ntbr-pile/. @bookstodon#reading#books
You said in your article "one has to be very careful when one considers getting rid of books that one urgently needs to read... I have to admit that there’s something freeing about it."
I'm currently reading Walking on Water by Anthony De Mello. He mentions detachment often in regard to freedom, including spiritual freedom. He gives this exercise: Take these books (hard to separate from) and say to them "How precious you are and loved, but you are not my life. I have a life to live and a destiny to fulfill different from you." That seems to be a way to get rid of something with care.
@NatureMC@bookwyrm@writers while I didn't dig deep, I'm not sure how bookwyrm would prevent fake review bombing... tho federated instances could block, but it's still lots of content moderation...
@pyperkub Of course but here real people and admins are working for that. I also think that with the size of the servers here, a bombing would be noticeable due to the size of the data. @bookwyrm@writers
In November while in upstate New York, we took a small afternoon trip to Saratoga Springs, a small, relatively affluent college town near where @seanbala grew up. We made two stops. One was Lyrical Ballad Bookstore. It was an amazing warren of shelves and lots of old books, maps, newspapers, and pictures. Funny thing is that even though he grew up here, this was Sean's first time going!
@seanbala@bookstodon Afterwards, we went to Uncommon Ground, a local coffee shop that makes its own bagels and roasts its own coffee. We got one of the best mochas we've had in a long time and a bagel with some schmear. Worth checking out if you ever visit!
@seanbala read a book while @dohappybelove did some painting. A good afternoon that we needed at that moment.
Readers and Friends of readers!
If you like witty wordplay, endearing characters, and a sense of fun with your mystery: PJ Fitzsimmons is your man. His Anty Boisjoly Mystery series is SO delightful; I read the seven books this year, most twice! It’s the kind of book you have to read bits out loud to whomever else is in the room. Or, if you’re feeling shy, just laugh outloud (to yourself).
@MardraS@bookstodon
You've made my day, Mardra. I'm sorry that I'm here so rarely and only just now saw your kind messages — I think I have to either commit to Mastodon or not.
Either way, I hope you know how motivational this kind of support is as I'm writing book number eight. Thank you.
Censoring Imagination: Why Prisons Ban Fantasy and Science Fiction LitHub
"As PEN America’s new report Reading Between the Bars shows, #books banned in prisons by some states dwarf all other book censorship in school and public libraries. Prison censorship robs those behind bars of everything from exercise and health to art and even yoga, often for reasons that strain credulity"
The strangest category of bans however, are the ones on magical and fantastical literature.